Abdul Wahab Khan | NT
PANAJI: Goa’s child sex ratio at birth has plummeted from 953 girls per 1,000 boys in 2014 to 916 girls as against 1,000 boys recorded up to September last year.
In 2001 census, the child sex ratio was 938 girls per 1,000 boys and it marginally increased to 942 in 2011.
The decline in the number of girls is attributed to several factors – neglect of the girl child, female foeticide and family planning. Sex-selective abortions have been greatly facilitated by the misuse of diagnostic procedures such as portable ultrasound machines, which can determine the sex of the foetus.
The figures of the alarming fall have prompted the state administration to study the reasons behind the drastic fall. “We actually don’t know the reason behind the decline in child sex ratio. Hence, we will soon have a detailed study and check the birth records of all the government hospitals,” said an official from the state-level advisory committee on Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act, 1994 (PCPNDT Act).
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has undertaken several measures to implement the PCPNDT Act. The Act provides for the prohibition of sex selection and prevention of misuse of diagnostic techniques for sex determination leading to female foeticide.
There are 94 private and government-run clinics that carry out around 140 abortions every quarter up to 20 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, once the foetus is diagnosed to be causing grave danger to the pregnant woman’s physical and mental health. But there could be a possibility of sex-selective abortions taking place also.
A senior health official involved in overseeing the effective implementation of the PCPNDT Act said, “Sex determination and termination of pregnancies in districts across the border with adjacent states is a serious concern which needs early intervention.”
Poor monitoring and enforcement of the laws have allowed clinics offering sex determination and sex-selective abortions to flourish. Interestingly, there is no toll-free number available to tip-off the authorities about the illegal ultrasound tests and unauthorised abortions. However, a complaint can be made online on pcpndtstate.goa@gov.in
“It is not appropriate to say that there is poor enforcement of law because we have not received any information or complaint of sonography centres in state practising sex-determination tests,” a senior member of district advisory committee said.
There are around 128 authorised portable and non-portable ultrasound machines with 81 ultrasound clinics registered in north district.
“Radiologists have to lock the non-portable ultrasound machine and keep the key with them so that no one misuses it in their absence. The portable ultrasound machine is allowed only within the premises of a hospital or clinic registered under the Act,” said a health official, who went on to say that the district has no mechanism to ensure that this practice is being followed.
To ensure regular monitoring, the PCPNDT Act makes it mandatory for doctors to fill and submit a Form F, which states the reasons for the test and the condition of the patient, every time they conduct an ultrasound procedure on a pregnant woman. Any mistakes in Form F can attract punishment. However, those ultrasounds, which are performed outside the legal perspective remain unchecked.
A senior official of the advisory committee said that they regularly receive compliance to Form F from all registered clinics online “but in our repeated inspections of sonography centres, nothing has been found on sex determination practices.”
